Abuse
by ArmAndLeg
Summary: Dib's mother is the bane of Dib's existance. But, he had thought she was gone for good. As his mother returns in his life, can Dib handle the stress? This time, there's someone willing to help, despite the animosities of the past.
1. Prologue/Part One: Zim's POV

Leg: ::sigh:: Since fanfiction

Arm: This is a little something that Leg and I decided to do. You see, our bestfriend (or, one of them. He shall remain nameless) is and has been abused. 

Leg: We want to dedicate this to him. Some of the things in here are actual events that happened to our friend; others are of our own imagination. It's our way of telling him that we care and that there will always be someone that does. 

Arm: Alright, with that little spiel out of the way, let's just say that we don't own the characters and you blood-sucking lawyers will not sue us, okay? We're just trying to get our little ideas out in the open. And for those of you who must know, this is the first time Leg and I have tried to write something on the subject of child abuse. You have been warned. It's all in one story, since Leg and I didn't feel like uploading chapter upon chapter.

Leg: Oh, and Dib's about 13 in the prologue, about a good two years after Zim arrived on Earth, just to let you know.

Abuse

Prologue

Dib looked at the car parked in front of his house with wide eyes. No, she just couldn't be here, not now. His mother couldn't be here; it wasn't her usual day to visit. But he couldn't fight the truth, her car was sitting on the side of the road, plain as day, like a warning, to tell him to run as far away as he could from his house until he knew his mother was gone. But he had no where to run to, and his mother would be even more pissed at him if she didn't see him at all. She would know if he were avoiding her.

He numbly walked past the car, being careful not to touch it. He remembered that time when his mother almost hit him when he was crossing the street, a few years ago, claiming that she didn't see him. Dib shuddered as he shouldered his book bag and took a deep breath. He was going to try and sneak into his room without being noticed. He'd come down stairs and talk to his mother when Gaz got home. He opened the door slowly. So far so good. He headed for the stairs, hoping that she wouldn't notice him.

"Dib, is that you?" she asked from the kitchen. Let's just call her Sora for now, since her real name is unknown, and that's her nickname around the area.

Damn! Dib cursed to himself. "Yes," he replied as she changed directions and headed for the kitchen. He glared at the floor as he walked towards it. He tried to smile and look happy to see his mother. But how could he do that when she has done more damage to him than anyone in existence?

He looked up at his mother. She looked genuinely happy to see him, which was truly the understatement of the century to him. His mother was never happy to see him, _ever_. Sora was a master at hiding her true emotions, the only thing Dib was happy that he inherited from her. How else could he hide the fact that he was so unhappy with his family life so well? 

"Hey mom," he said in his most polite voice. This was how it usually started. He would be as polite as can be, agree with whatever the hell she said, and generally be on his best behavior. Was that ever enough for Sora? Well, if he did it correctly, yes, and he could go a day without a new bruise or injury, but he usually fell into her traps.

"Hello Dib," Sora said back. "What time did skool end for you today?" 

Typical first question. "Fifteen minutes ago," Dib answered cautiously. He knew he had said the wrong thing when her expression changed slightly. I should have said ten, Dib realized, I should have said ten.

"You're late. Didn't your father tell you that I was coming here today?" Sora asked, leaning against the counter and folding her arms across her chest.

No, if I had known, I wouldn't have chased Zim all over the damn neighborhood, Dib thought to himself. "No," he replied quietly. "Don't get mad at dad though, I was in a hurry to get out of the house this morning," Dib added quickly. 

That caught Sora's interest, and she raised a light purple eyebrow at it. "Why were you in a rush to get out of the house this morning? You weren't chasing that green kid around because you think he's an alien, were you?" Sora asked.

Dib inwardly flinched at that. She must have seen him that morning when he passed by her work the last few times. "No," he lied through his teeth. He would kill himself later for what he was going to say next. "He and I are good friends, and he wanted to tell me something important this morning."

"That's not what Gaz told me last night over the phone," Sora stated. 

Oh shit. Shit shit shit shit! This is NOT good, NOT good at all. Dib told himself over and over again. "Oh," Dib muttered as he gulped. He had just walked into Trap One. Trap One usually just got him yelled at, but if he stumbled into Trap Two, he was going to be in deep.

"Gaz said that you and that green kid—Zim, was it?—chase each other around all the time," Sora said as she narrowed her eyes at him, nearly frying holes into his head by how intensely she was staring at him.

"Fine, maybe I was chasing him around instead of meeting him somewhere," Dib admitted cautiously. He started to back up subconsciously. He could tell that his mother was about to grab him, and he wanted to get out of there before she got the chance to.

"Why would you be chasing such a cute guy around, Dib, unless you liked him?" Sora asked, taking a sip of her drink.

Dib stopped inching backwards and stared at his mother. His mother had no right to make fun of his sexuality like that! No right at all! And to suggest that the object of his affections was the one thing he could possibly hate more than anything else really pissed him off. "How the _fuck_ did you ever come up with that idea?" Dib nearly shouted at her. He shut his mouth in shock at what he had just said to his mother. 

Another spasm of "Oh shit" ran through his mind. He blindly walked into Trap Two, and he instantly knew he wasn't going to get out of the kitchen without some new injury. His mother grabbed him by the wrist to keep him from running out of the room in his new bout of fear. He tried to struggle to get free from his mother's vice-like grip, but it was no use.

"Tell me whether or not you like Zim, or…" Sora turned on one of the burners of the stove, and left the sentence unfinished. 

Dib looked up at his mother. He wouldn't put anything past her, and he knew that she would do what he was thinking. "I don't like Zim. I hate his guts. I want to see him on the cover of one of my UFO zines, his body cut open and his organs spewed across the autopsy table," Dib said. It would have sounded more hateful if it weren't for his consuming fear of what his mother was going to do to him.

Sora just held onto her son's wrist. "That, Dib, is the object of your sister's affections you are talking about. You will do _no_ such thing to him, you hear?" Sora ordered, dragging him closer to the stove with her strength. "If you so much as touch another hair on that boy's head…" she trailed off and looked at her son's face. His fear of her was very evident now, but she could see the revulsion he was experiencing because of what she had just told him.

"What would you do to me?" Dib asked her quietly, his voice getting slightly higher than usual.

"Oh, nothing much…. This is just a preview," Sora stated as she moved his hand about three inches about the flame on the burner.

Dib refused to call out and tell her that it hurt; that was exactly what she wanted him to do. But then he felt her move his hand closer and closer to the flame, and he nearly panicked. He finally found the strength to pull away from her grip, and he rubbed the side of his hand where his mother had burned it. He had tears in his eyes. "I am so SICK of the way you treat ME!" he shouted at her through his tears.

Sora just smirked. She had done her job. "Let that be a lesson to you," she just said as she looked at Dib.

"Is this how you show love, Sora?!" Dib asked. He never called his mother "mom" since the day she threw broken pieces of china at his back and sliced up his entire back and part of his leg. "Because I don't feel loved!" he continued.

Sora frowned at that. How dare her son say that she didn't love him? She slapped him for that. "You're too young to know how you feel, and you won't know until you're an adult," she stated. 

Dib glared at her. He knew damn well how he felt. His mother was just simply full of bull shit about nearly everything there could be. She was the least motherly woman on the planet, and she favored one child. He sure wasn't going to speak his mind though, or else she'd force his hand completely into that flame. 

"Tell Gaz that I said hi. I'm going to be late," Sora stated suddenly. She walked past Dib and smacked the back of his head for glaring at her. "And remember, if I find out that you've bothered Zim in anyway, that hand of yours will be worse than it is now, got it?" Then she was out of the door.

Dib examined his hand and then turned to glare at the front door. It wasn't that bad of a burn, luckily. He went upstairs to his room. As he was passing his father's bedroom (which really didn't make sense because Membrane usually didn't sleep in the house), he noticed something different about it. There were more of his mother's things all over the floor of it.

"No…. No. She can't be moving back in, can she?" Dib asked himself out loud. It would explain why Sora had been visiting so often these days. But they didn't ask him if he wanted her to move back in, which he most definitely didn't want to happen. He hoped that she wouldn't move back in. He seriously hoped she wouldn't.

One Year Later, Zim's POV

Ugh. Skool. I don't feel like going today, my days haven't been nearly as…amusing since Dib suddenly decided to stop chasing me all over the damn town. At first I thought it was some sign, that everything would be over and done with, as far as invading the Earth went. It wasn't. No matter how many times I asked the Tallests to send me the Armada, they would say it was in the shop or something. I'm beginning to believe that they do not want to send me it. Though I had to go to skool, if I didn't want to give my true identity away.

Many things have changed for me in the past year, the biggest one being Dib's change of plans. He doesn't even look up at me anymore when I walk into the classroom to glare at me. Dib also seems more withdrawn, and Gaz hasn't stopped talking to me since about the same time as well. I think she has a crush on me, so I blatantly ignore her as best as I can. Gir has calmed down somewhat as well, and can focus even more. But the weirdest change is definitely the way Dib is acting.

It was the weirdest thing when he came up to me, asked for a truce, then walked away. Then he began to ignore me completely. I said and did things that would make him jump out of his seat and scream "He's an alien!" purposely, and I'd get no response from it. None. And now he's constantly hiding his arms from people. Before he didn't care if the arms of his trench coat slid down, but now he does. 

I shook my head and told myself to stop thinking about him. So what if Dib just hasn't been himself for about a year? He's my enemy, I'm supposed to feel absolutely nothing but hate towards him. Then why am I worrying so much about his weird behavior? Okay, fine, I'm more than worried. I just want to run up to him and ask him what's wrong with him. He just isn't the same Dib I met three years ago.

As I walked into my classroom, I noticed that a different teacher was there. She wasn't an old hag like most teachers were. I sat down in my seat and waited for class to begin, just as Dib walked in before the bell.

"You're late, Dib," the new teacher said. I wondered briefly how the two knew each other.

"I know," he mumbled to himself, throwing the woman a glare I've only seen him use on me before. "And I'm glad to be," he continued, thinking he wasn't heard. 

I saw the woman's eye twitch. I wondered who the hell she was. Dib hasn't used that tone of voice since he stopped stalking me, basically. I eyed my skool work and tried to complete what little of it I had left. I really didn't like this new teacher. 

"My name is Mrs. C, and I will be your teacher for the rest of the year. For those of you who are wondering why Dib and I know each other, it is because I'm his mother. I will treat him just like any student here, and he will get no special treatment. Now, grab your notebooks and turn to page…." 

So that's how they know each other. It makes sense. But why would Dib be angry that his mother was teaching him? That's when I noticed some of the looks that were going on between the two of them. Dib seemed to be on his best behavior in front of his mother, but it wasn't because he was trying to impress her, it was almost like he was afraid to get in trouble, which Dib almost never was. His mother constantly glanced at his direction, and then at me.

I sighed and tried to focus on the work that was being placed in front of me. Stupid human math, they were far behind in it. I was bored, so I turned to Dib, who had decided to look over at me. He tried to smile, it seemed like, so I did him a favor for once and smiled back. He seemed kind of shocked at the action, then turned away. I turned back around in my seat and noticed that Mrs. C was studying Dib and I through the corner of her eye. I suddenly didn't like her. 

There was an air of coldness coming from her; one similar to the one Ms. Bitters had, but worse. It was like she seriously didn't want to be there, in front of us, teaching. I wondered if anyone felt it too. I glanced back over at Dib. He started to look bored at the lesson, but he still remained awake. Like he was afraid that if he didn't, he would get hurt. Which was impossible. And he kept rubbing the same hand he had mysteriously burned last year. I saw that he was about to look at me again and I instantly turned away and tried to focus on the lesson. I suddenly couldn't wait for lunch.

When the bell did finally ring for lunch, I jumped out of my seat and rushed out of the door, glad to be out of that stuffy classroom for the lunch hour. I heard Mrs. C order Dib to stay in the classroom as I walked out though, and I suddenly wanted to stay there. So I did the next best thing, I stood next to the classroom door and waited for Dib to come out of the room. I heard a slight yelp coming from Dib and Mrs. C whispering something to him, and she whispered it harshly.

Dib walked out of the room, rubbing one of his arms. He walked past me and whispered something to himself, not even noticing that I was there. "What did she do to you, Dib?" I asked as I walked up next to him.

Dib jumped upon hearing my voice. "Zim… It was nothing, really," Dib said as he looked down at the ground. "Now leave me alone before my mom sees us," Dib ordered.

"Look, why don't you just tell me why you suddenly decided to stop chasing me all over the damn neighborhood?" I asked.

"You _still_ want to know that?" Dib asked me quietly.

"Yeah, it was sort of an over night change for you," I admitted. "And why would your mom care if she saw us talking to one another?" I asked.

"Nevermind… Just go somewhere else. I'll come over your place after skool when mom goes to her night job," Dib told me, then walked off, just as Gaz walked up to me.

"Hey Zim," she said quietly. This was how it usually started.

I continued towards the lunchroom and tried to ignore her. "Hello, Gaz," I said back automatically.

"I think Dib is trying to become friends with you after all these years," Gaz stated as she glanced up from her GameSlave.

That caught my interest for once, and I decided to talk to Gaz today. "Really? What makes you say that?" I asked her.

"For one, he said he was going to go to your place. He'd never do that. He's been pretty lonely for a while, so be nice to him," Gaz ordered.

"Why wouldn't I be?" I asked her.

Gaz just glared at me. "Look, Zim, no matter how I act like I hate my brother, I still know when he's hurt, and I never like it when he is," Gaz told me.

I just nodded my head in understanding and walked away from her. Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder, and turned around to see that it was Mrs. C's hand. 

"Zim, I would like to talk to you for a moment," she stated coldly.

I decided to do as I was told for once. Her grip on my shoulder was getting tighter as well, and she basically guided me back to her classroom. Something told me that I should have run when I had the chance, but I ignored it as usual. I took a seat down in my desk and waited for her to begin.

"Stay away from my son, he doesn't need to be around you," was all she said. 

"I know he doesn't need to be around me, but what if he wants to?" I asked her. My arrogant nature was returning. I just didn't like her tone of voice. And who did she think she was to order me around like that? I was an Irken _Invader_! I only took orders from the Almighty Tallests when it came to personal matters as to who I was allowed to be around. I surely wasn't going to tell her that though.

"You're just as bad as my son. Your parents should have disciplined you better," she stated. "I already told Dib that I didn't want him to be near you, or any other guy for that matter. He needs to learn that he's supposed to like girls, not guys," she continued.

I just didn't hear what I thought I heard. Dib…was gay? I had nothing against homosexuality; it's just that I never expected to hear that my once biggest rival was like that. It didn't bother me too much; it was the fact that Dib's mother was trying to teach Dib to be something he's not that bothered me. I thought human parents were supposed to be accepting of how their children were. I took that moment to walk out of the classroom, but Mrs. C stopped me from doing so.

"Did I say you could leave yet?" she asked me.

Of course, I stopped moving. I had enough sense to know that a human could be stronger than they looked, Dib had proven that to me many a time when we were still trying to kill one another. I only turned around to face her again as my answer. I didn't feel like talking to her. She was glaring at me, but soon she opened her mouth. "How are you treating my daughter?" she asked. Her tone of voice changed. When she was talking about Dib, her voice was harsh and cold, but when it came to Gaz…she sounded how I imagined a human mother would sound. 

The question threw me off though. Why would she want to know that? I treat her daughter like a treat almost every other stupid human stinkbeast on this sad excuse for a planet. I couldn't tell her that though, something told me that Mrs. C wanted me to say that I was treating her like a queen, which would mean I would have to lie. Irkens _never_ lie unless it's apart of some plan they have to do. So I just shrugged my shoulders at her. 

"You can go now," Mrs. C said finally after what seemed to be a very, very long time. I happily obliged to leave the classroom. I walked calmly to the cafeteria. I would have to do research on the subject on how Mrs. C treated her children. Something told me there just wasn't anything right with it. Maybe Dib could help me understand her behavior towards him and Gaz, when he came over today. I grabbed a lunch tray and got in line for lunch. Gaz saved me a seat, as always, and I decided that just for this once I would sit with her. Dib was sitting with her this once as well, like back in fifth grade when I first arrived here on Earth. 

"What are you doing here? You know my mom could be watching your every move, right Zim?" Dib asked me in a harsh whisper as I sat down across from Gaz and next to him. 

"That's exactly why I'm sitting here, Dib," I stated. He looked at me strangely, but then I think he caught on.

"Oh yeah, that's right…" he whispered to himself.

"So, Zim, you've finally decided to sit with me, how nice," Gaz said. She looked back down at her GameSlave. I still wonder why she's so into that stupid game. It was just a child's thing. I'd never ask her why though, the last time a kid asked her that, he was on the floor in seconds. 

I felt Dib tap me on the shoulder. I turned to him and he pointed over to his mom. "What?" I asked him.

"Look, trust me on this, move next to Gaz," Dib stated. 

"I like it fine just where I am, thank you."

"Zim…" Dib began, his voice reaching a pitch I hadn't heard come from him in a while. He gave me the most pathetic look I'd ever seen him use. I did as I was told and sat next to her. Dib relaxed visibly once I did so. There was something very odd about his behavior, and I was worried about him. What could have been happening between him and his mother that causes him to have so much fear of her? 

The rest of the day passed by quickly enough for my comfort. I tried as best as I could not to look over at Dib at all during the rest of the skool day. I could feel Mrs. C's eyes on me the whole time as well. I hate that. I hate the feeling of being studied as some kind of animal. Once skool was over, I nearly jumped out of my seat and practically ran out of the classroom. I'd do anything by this point to stay away from Mrs. C. There was no way I wanted to deal with her for the rest of the year.

Arm: Okay. We lied. It will be multi-chaptered. Leg and I have too many ideas to put it all into one fic…

Leg: For those of you who might be wondering… We have no idea what couple this fic might be. We like ZAGR and Zib…so…yeah. I will do lurid thanky dance at those of you who review!

Arm: We gotta hold of JTHM…::grins evilly:: Bye! 


	2. Part Two: 3rd Person POV

HA fanfic2

Arm: Yeah, Chapter 2 to Abuse. Leg and I maybe swaying towards Zib, but damnit, I've been itchin' to write a ZAGR…

Leg: ::sighs:: Of course, we all know that Gaz likes Zim in this fic, but I have no idea what she's going to do with the couple….Us Zib fans can only hope and get on our knees and pray. ::does so:: Please, oh please O Lord, do not let Arm write a—OW!!! 

Arm: ::grinning evilly at Leg as she hides her mallet:: What was that? Oh, and we don't own them. Got it? 

Abuse: Chapter Two, 3rd person POV

Dib practically ran out of his house. He needed to get away from his mother. She had gone TOO far today. Damnit, he could feel his tears catching up to him. He had been able to keep from crying all year, until now. How could she? She basically repeated what she had told him over a year ago, but she hit more nerves, due to all the things that have built up over the years.

Dib slowed his pace down. He needed to think. Where was he supposed to go this afternoon after his mom went to work again? Oh, yeah, Zim's house. Dib looked around at where he was, and realized he was already half way to Zim's. He heard a car come up behind him, and he turned to see that it was his father.

"Dib, come home," he ordered.

"Screw you dad! I'll go back to that place when I'm ready!" Dib shouted him, and then ran off. His dad didn't want him to come back; he was only coming to retrieve him for his mother. He didn't want to see her at all. His father just drove off, understanding somewhat that his son needed to relax before he came home. 

Dib stopped running about a few moments afterwards, satisfied with the amount of space he had put between him and his father. He placed his hands in his pockets, and noticed that the little steel blade he usually brought to skool was still in there. He pulled out his hands, trying to keep himself from using it. Pulling up the sleeve to his right arm, he studied the small cuts that covered most of his arm, and all of the scars. 

He had been cutting himself for a long time now, and he couldn't even remember when he had started. He knew he needed to stop, sooner or later he would get brave and actually do the unthinkable if he continued. That's why the blade was in his pocket. He was using his own strength of will to teach himself to go on without it. So far his longest without cutting himself was a week, and this time he was getting close to completing another week. But he needed to. The pain he was feeling was too much, and it all built up. 

No! Dib shouted at himself. I don't need to! I will not cut myself at all! I can make it through this week! Dib fingered the blade again, to prove to himself that he wouldn't pick it up and use it. Then he remembered he was in public, and if he were to use it now, his biggest secret besides the one about the way his mother treated him would be out. 

He could Zim's house now, and something similar to a smile made its way across his face. He wondered briefly if Zim had really expected him to come over. Sure, he said that he was, but he never really planned to. Hell, he expected his mother to stay home this afternoon to do exactly what she did to him, but he didn't expect her to be that mean with him today. 

The tears returned. Damn, how he hated crying. It was his mother's goal, to get him to cry uncontrollably. She was now succeeding more and more these days too. He never cried in front of her though, that was what she really wanted. Just not to have him cry, but to have him cry in front of her face. He hastily wiped the tears away from his eyes. He didn't want Zim to think that anything had happened to him.

Good luck, a small part of him said. He knew he couldn't keep anything from Zim. Zim was smart. He can tell when something is wrong, even if he never seems worried about it. Making sure that he looked somewhat presentable, Dib took in a deep breath and knocked on the door. He waited impatiently for it to open. He knew his sister would be looking for him soon, on his mother's orders, and he didn't want to be in plain sight when she reached this part of the neighborhood. 

"Yes? Oh, Dib, it's you," Zim stated quietly. He studied Dib's facial expression. Something seemed really off about him.

"Well, you seem _so_ happy to see me," Dib muttered sarcastically. He couldn't help it. With the weight of what had just happened to him and how Zim had treated him that year or so ago, it was really hard for him to try and sound cheerful.

Zim moved out of the way and let Dib inside the house. Zim noticed how…depressed Dib looked like, but his facial expression was something that resembled a smile, which wasn't associated with depression at all in the human world. Shaking his head, Zim figured that he would never understand human behavior, and left it at that.

"I bet you weren't expecting me to come over, huh?" Dib asked lightly as he observed the living room. 

"No, I was," Zim answered as he walked up next to Dib. He sighed at the mess Gir made earlier. "It's just that Gir decided to break something just five minutes ago and I haven't gotten the chance to clean it up. He got excited about something, I guess," Zim explained as he bent down and picked some of the glass up.

"Gir? Is he that android you own?" Dib asked, getting highly interested in what Zim was talking about.

Zim sighed. "Yes, he is. You're not going to go back to the way you were, are you?" Zim asked suddenly.

"The way I was?" Dib asked, confused. He finally caught on, and just realized how much his head hurt. "Oh, no, no of course not. I can't afford to," Dib stated, trying to sound cheerful, and failing miserably. He sat down on Zim's couch without asking and placed his head in his hands. He had a horrible headache, and it was his whole family's damn fault.

"Are you okay, Dib? You aren't acting like yourself," Zim stated as he glanced worriedly at Dib, who was now rubbing his temples.

"It's nothing. I just have a headache. Just stress," Dib answered. "Do you have anything like Tylenol or Advil?"

"No. I don't use human pain relievers," Zim replied as he walked into the kitchen to throw out the pieces of glass. 

"Figures," Dib mumbled to himself. His headache was only getting worse too. All of the smallest, simplest things his mother had done to him were crushing him again. He needed to escape from them all, and yet, since they all remained in his head, he could not. 

"What did your mom say to you this afternoon before lunch?" Zim asked. "And don't lie to me."

Sighing, Dib looked up, and could feel the tears coming again. All of the bullshit he had to put up with; his ex-boyfriends' shit, his mother's shit, finally caught up to him. He couldn't even answer Zim before he began to bawl. "I just can't take it anymore!" Dib hissed between his teeth. "My family, the people I've been with. All bullshit. I feel horrible. I can't take this anymore."

Zim was shocked at the sudden outburst of from Dib. He had no idea what to do, and that was the hardest part of it all. How do you go on telling someone you never really gotten along with that they shouldn't be feeling that? Zim cautiously walked over to Dib, and awkwardly sat down next to him and listened to Dib ramble.

"Fuck my mother, my father, hell, even my sister. They've never really cared for me," Dib mumbled continuously.

"What did they do to you to make you think that?" Zim asked quietly. 

"Existing. Just everything they've done their whole life. My sister has always been treated special. My mother has always favored her. When Gaz and I were in gymnastics.... We loved it. It was one of the few things I actually enjoyed in my life," Dib momentarily paused to wipe his eyes. "My mother saw how happy we were, and joined. She never got as good as us, and she was jealous of it. She made us quit because she just didn't get it. Gaz and I nearly killed each other after that…"

Zim just nodded and listened. It seemed as though Dib had held all of this in for a really long time. And even though he had lived on Earth for three years, he still didn't know the basic ways of comforting a human. He never expected Dib to be so depressed, never realized that Dib hated his life. There had to be something that Dib lived for.

"And to make it worse, I _have_ tried killing myself, though I failed. My mother made sure of it," Dib muttered. 

Now this, Zim couldn't handle. "How long ago was this?" Zim asked. He placed his hand on Dib's arm, trying to tell him without words that he could trust him, just this once. 

"Not too long ago. I don't exactly remember when it happened. Sometime after my mom moved back in," Dib answered, his voice choked with tears, but he moved his arm out from under Zim's hand. He didn't like any physical contact with anyone that wasn't either a boyfriend or his sister. Dib saddened. He had horrible luck with relationships. None of them, however, were in his skool. He always managed to meet someone new, but then they would use him and then treat him like shit. 

He thought of his most recent rejection. He cried harder at the thought of that. His last boyfriend, Justin, had told him that afternoon that he didn't like him anymore. Dib did the logical thing with the other boy; he broke up with him. That made him feel horrible, and then his mother walked in on him crying about it. She forced him to answer her questions with her usual methods. He just had had enough. He didn't want to live anymore. He felt ugly, dirty, and unloved. He pulled out the small blade that was in his pocket and studied it for a bit. Zim wouldn't know what he was doing; he _wasn't_ human after all, so…

"Oh no you don't," Zim stated as he pulled the blade out of Dib's hands, seemingly able to read Dib's thoughts. He placed it carefully in his lap. "What did you plan on doing with that? Hurt yourself?" Zim asked.

Dib looked up at him with the most pathetic look. He needed to! The pain was too great! It was the only way he could make sure he was still alive and just didn't go straight to Hell. "Zim, please—"

"No. Hurting yourself is not the answer. It only brings about more pain," Zim said, trying to be reasonable. Zim may have seemed like he knew what he had to do, but he was still lost. All he could think of was to help Dib somehow, to make him no longer depressed. Going about that, however, was another story. 

"You don't understand, Zim! My life is pain! There _hasn't_ been any happiness in my life! Gymnastics and the paranormal may be the only things right now, but I have neither! I don't want to live…." 

__

I don't want to live. Those words rang like a gong in Zim's head. _I don't want to live._ No! He had to live! Gaz said she cared about it when Dib was hurt, didn't she? And Zim…well, he did really care about the human, as much as he would hate to admit it on a normal bases. He had friends to live for!

"Nobody likes me. They all think I'm an ugly person, inside and out. All of my ex-boyfriends say so. My mother says so, so it must be true. I have nothing to live for if no one really wants me around…."

"Dib, stop running over yourself like that!" Zim shouted finally. "You aren't ugly. You have the purest of human hearts out there, if you toss the fact away that you wanted to kill me most of the time you've known me," Zim said. He felt sadness. Real sadness. It was possibly the worst thing he could feel. All he wanted to do was have the Dib that smiled back, the Dib that was so sure of himself. It was eating away at his heart, seeing his ex-rival basically pick on himself, just because he thought everyone thought of him like that. 

"No body would care if I died, you know," Dib stated sadly, his tears that had momentarily stopped returned again. "No one in skool has ever taken the effort to become my friend. No one has ever said that they loved me, and said it again a month or even a week later! They all ended up hating me! Just like I hate myself…" 

"There are people who love you, though!" Zim said in desperation. Why he had said that, he had no idea. 

"Yeah? Name someone who doesn't have to _act_ like they love me," Dib ordered him to do.

Zim glanced down at the floor. What was that little voice screaming? The little voice inside his head? He thought of an answer, and truthfully he couldn't come up with anything.

"No one, huh? That's what I thought. There is no one on this Earth who could ever love me for who I was. Just my image or something as superficial," Dib stated cynically.

"But, what of the people that aren't of the planet Earth?" Zim asked to himself in a very low voice, and in Irken so that if Dib did hear him, he couldn't understand him. 

Dib sighed and punched the couch. "My mother always wanted me to respect her. Well, how can I respect someone who has never respected me for who I was in the first place? Her thought of respect is complete and total obedience. I can't do that twenty-four seven. I just can't. Not anymore. Before I could do it, but now…. Now she's asking too much of me, expecting me to be the perfect son. She says I put no effort into that. She has no fucking idea exactly how hard I try to go a day without getting some new burn, broken or sprained bones, or cuts and bruises. No idea," Dib rambled.

That caused Zim to look up at Dib. Had he heard right? His mother abused him? He had to read about it in that stupid class humans called health. "Dib…" Zim looked away and pressed his eyes closed. He wanted to cry. Oh god, he had never wanted to cry so much in his life by just hearing the pain and anguish in someone else's voice. And it coming from someone who he had always thought to be so strong that nothing could touch him, that nothing could hurt him like this. This just proved how wrong he could be about someone, and it proved that he never really knew the real Dib.

Dib pulled his knees to his chest and hugged them. He had no where to go. He couldn't go home, his mother would severely punish him for running away, basically. "You know, we've tried family counseling. But all they ever talked about was how _I_ treated her. That was all. Not once had they ever reached the subject of how they treated me. Not once. And it didn't even work. My family life remained the same, even though my mother basically moved out for something she had done to me before," Dib continued. He winced at the memory of the pain of his back being so torn up, and running to his boyfriend-at-the-time's house with his messed up legs. That was the only time his mother had been reported for the things she had done. 

Dib gasped as he felt someone's arms around him. No. He wasn't being hugged. He couldn't be being hugged. No one hugged him anymore. No one. Not even his father, or his sister. "I, I never knew, Dib. I couldn't tell. I knew something was wrong with you when you called a truce with me, but I never could pinpoint it. You're mother thought that you liked me, didn't she? That's why she told me to stay away from you this afternoon at lunch," Zim whispered in his ear. 

Zim never knew he could be feeling emotions, _human_ emotions, so strongly, and it was all because of Dib. Dib had always been his source of emotions. Usually Dib was his cause of hate, but he also caused him to worry, to wonder, to think over things, to see if what he was doing was wrong, he even helped Zim begin to love the human race, and to feel the great sadness that was coming from the very bottom of his heart. Zim wanted to help Dib so badly. He just wanted to do something, anything, to help him in anyway, and nothing he was doing seemed to work. So he hugged Dib, in hopes that it would help, no matter how great or small, he just wanted to help.

"What…what was that for?" Dib asked it as he wiped his tears away from his eyes. He looked into Zim's eyes and saw something he had never seen before in someone's eye, when they looked at him. He couldn't make out what it was. And he was wondering if he should be worried or relieved to see it there in Zim's eyes.

"I…I don't know. I had to do something," Zim answered shakily. His eyes began to fill up with tears at all of what he had just heard, all coming from Dib. "I couldn't stand to see you walk all over yourself like that. You aren't a bad person, Dib. You always put effort into everything you have ever done, like chasing me. You gave up chasing me in order to protect yourself. You didn't want to get hurt, but in all reality, you hurt yourself for giving up the one thing you loved doing because the person you hated the most didn't want you to have joy in your life," Zim said, his tears spilling over. He tried to wipe them away before Dib could see, but it was no use. 

"Zim, why are you…?" Dib didn't even finish the question. He already knew the answer. Zim wasn't feeling sorry for him, he was sad because he couldn't do anything to help. 

"When you said that you were to come over today, I never thought that all of this would have been said. That all of what you told me had happened to you. You seemed like what I thought all human mothers on Earth would have wanted in a son. Plus, I never knew humans could be so cruel to another. Dib, it's all so frustrating for me to see the same person who had threatened my very existence say that he wanted to die, and I have no way of helping him. It's a helplessness that I don't like. I've never felt like this my entire life.

"Dib, I don't want you to do anything to yourself. I really don't. You may think that there is no one else out there in the world that does, but there just has to be. I'm not used to all of the human emotions. On Irk, things are very different. Hell, I never thought I'd last this long on this planet. I was beginning to get really lonely. And I believe that the Tallest have tricked me once again. But that is a completely different story," Zim spilled. He cried as he said all of it, but it wasn't because he was feeling sorry for himself. He wanted Dib to live. He didn't even want to comprehend the possibility of Dib doing something to himself.

Dib was shocked to hear all of this be said by his biggest rival. He still felt ugly, though. There was no way he was ever going to stop feeling ugly. Everyone thought he was ugly. Everyone thought he was weird. Everyone thought he didn't even belong in this world. How could something not be true if _everyone_ believed that it was?

"Don't even give a damn about what everyone thinks. They don't know you. They don't know the _real_ you. The very beautiful side to you that no one has seen because you never let them get close to you. I know what closure is, Dib. What everyone thinks isn't important, it's what _you_ think that is," Zim said, seeming to read his mind. "_You_ are in control of your own life. You can't just let people order you around all of the time!"

Dib laughed bitterly at that. How many times has he been told that? All of the counselors he ever had said the same exact thing, and they never were any help to him. "'Take control of my own life'? It isn't possible for me to do. My mother has made sure of that. It's funny, everyone who's tried to give me advice always says that, but they have no idea what no matter what I try to do, I'll never have control of it," Dib stated. 

Zim had no idea what to say to that. None at all. He was getting frustrated again. Why can't Dib just stop all of this? Can't he do _anything _to help his ex-rival? This was absolutely driving him insane. He had no idea on how to help. And seeing Dib in the state that he was in now really threw him off. He asked himself if he could possibly say something and not have Dib find a way to get more depressed from his saying it. 

"I don't want to go back home. It's not safe there for me. Gaz should be looking for me now, on mom's orders. When I go home, she'll give me all this shit about how worried about me she was. She'd be the only one who semi-cared if I died, sometime soon," Dib mumbled to himself.

"Did everything I just tell you go through one ear and out the other!" Zim tried not to shout it, but he couldn't help it. "Dib, I can't just sit here and let you talk about your life like that! It can get better! And I would care if you were to die," Zim whispered. 

Dib looked at him skeptically, but after everything Zim had said and done for him today, he could believe that. But why Zim, of all people? Why did Zim have to be the only one to care about him, the only one who was willing to listen and not interrupt him? Zim couldn't possibly understand what exactly he was going through. "Do…do you really mean that?" Dib asked as he searched Zim's eyes.

"Of course I do…" Zim said as he leaned in closer to Dib. He didn't know why though, his body went into autopilot. "My time here on Earth wouldn't be so amusing without you here, and I don't want you to be gone from my life. Just seeing you everyday is enough to keep me from completely going insane." Closer, closer…

"Zim, I had no idea what you…felt that way," Dib mumbled as he, too, moved closer. His mind was screaming at him, telling him to stop. He couldn't! He can't! It just wasn't happening! What was going to happen was NOT going to happen! But his heart was winning, and winning fast. Why, just any second now, his lips were going to be planted firmly on….

**__**

DING-DONG!

Zim growled at whomever was at his door. He got up from the couch and ordered Dib to stay there and that he wouldn't be long. He opened the door open a crack and saw Gaz standing there.

"Zim, have you seen my brother? I'm worried sick about him," Gaz stated, her arms crossed over her chest. She did look worried.

"No, I haven't seen him. I've been waiting for him all day, and he still hasn't showed up. Why are you looking for him?" Zim asked.

"Mom wants him home. She said he ran out of the house when she told him to do something he didn't want to do. He's going to be in a shit load of trouble if he doesn't get home soon. Well, anyway, if you see him, tell him to get his ass home. Bye!" Gaz stated as she walked off.

Zim sighed and shut the door. Why did he just lie? He never lied to anyone. He glanced back over at Dib, who was staring off into space. He looked somewhat happy, now. At least he didn't look completely and utterly depressed as he had before. And that caused Zim to smile, but it soon faded when he realized that Dib couldn't stay with him.

"You really shouldn't have lied to her, you know," Dib stated finally as he got off of the couch and headed over to Zim. "She'll hate you for it," Dib continued. "My sister really likes you."

Was that…a hint of jealousy, Zim had heard? Zim glanced down at Dib. They were only about two feet apart, but he wanted to get closer to him. Dib looked up at him. "I know she does, and in all reality, I don't care. I have had someone else on my mind since the moment I came here on Earth, though I've never realized it," Zim said without thinking. 

Dib looked up at him, as if he was shocked. "Zim, could I just stay here, for a night or so?" Dib asked as he moved closer for Zim. "I don't feel like going back home." Dib mumbled as he latched himself onto Zim. 

Zim sighed and wrapped his arms around Dib's fragile frame. "You can't stay here. You'll only get in more trouble if you do, Dib. And I don't want your mother to hurt you anymore than she already has," Zim whispered in Dib's ear.

"I know, but…. If I give her time to blow over, maybe she won't hurt me as much," Dib mumbled into Zim's shoulder. 

"If you really want to stay, you can, but you have to go home eventually. You can't just go avoiding your mother like this, though. You're going to have to face her sooner or later. If you want, I'll be by your side when you do," Zim promised him. He felt Dib move out from under his arms.

"Thank you," Dib stated. "Thank you for everything, Zim," Dib said. Dib prayed silently that Zim wouldn't end up being like the others. Like all the people who have hurt him in the past.

"You're…you're welcome, Dib," Zim said as he walked away from the door. "Is there anything you would like to talk about?" Zim asked.

"No. I'll be fine, as long as you're here," Dib stated, and it was the truth, as of then.

Arm: Meep! ::hides from the rabid ZAGR fans:: It couldn't be helped! 

Leg: ::sighs:: Well, at least we finished this chapter… Chapter three will be coming… Well, who knows? Not us. The romance is obvious now. Though, I do believe that Arm will be making us focus more on the angst than the actual romance.

Arm: Mm hmm. Well, please review! 


	3. Part Three: 3rd Person POV

Arm: ::cackles evilly for a few minutes before she realizes she has to introduce the fic:: Oh, sorry… I was in a bout of evil ideas…

Arm: ::cackles evilly for a few minutes before she realizes she has to introduce the fic:: Oh, sorry… I was in a bout of evil ideas…

Leg: Anyway, Arm and I are still drawing from personal experiences from our friend, but we're detaching ourselves farther and farther from what happened in real life. Because it's getting hard on us to do so, without truly getting into what we want to do, or becoming increasingly sappy where the fic should be angsty as hell.

Arm: Well, lesse… Oh, the romance is evident now, but we aren't going to completely get into any make out scenes or whatever… ::hears some of you groan:: Oh, shut up. I couldn't do that to Dib right now. He and Zim are still trying to figure everything out. They really aren't together yet anyway… If you ignore the fact that they've hugged, and nearly kissed… Oi, let us stop. We're getting talkative again… So, anyway, we don't own them. Got it?

Abuse: Chapter Three: Third Person POV

Zim looked over at Dib, who had stationed himself in front of one of Zim's computers a little over an hour ago. Dib seemed to have gotten over what had happened to him today, but he still looked upset over it. Zim noticed that Dib was smiling more and more at whatever he was reading. He finally got interested and walked over to Dib.

"What are you reading?" Zim asked in a soft voice, so as not to scare Dib.

No matter how hard Zim had tried not to scare Dib, he still jumped at Zim's voice. "A fanfic about a show I like," Dib answered once he got over his little panic attack. His mother used to ask him the same thing when he would be on the computer when she got home. Usually afterward she would do something to him, though. He shivered at the memories, but shrugged it off. Zim wouldn't mean to do any harm to him now.

Zim nodded. He understood what fanfiction was because he had run across some a few times as well. "Which show?" Zim asked, interested.

"Gundam Wing," Dib replied. "Though, this fic is huge. I'll finish it later...I've been trying to finish it for weeks now, but with my mom being home more and more often, you can understand why I haven't finished it," Dib admitted with little difficulty. He could feel that Zim was reading over his shoulder, and couldn't help smiling to himself. He had never thought that Zim could be so caring, and it being towards him was something strange enough.

"I've read this one," Zim mused to himself as he read over the title. "Where are you at in it?" Zim asked.

"About halfway through chapter nine," Dib replied shakily, surprised that Zim had actually read the same fic was he was trying to read.

"You're right, it will take you forever to finish it," Zim mumbled to himself. "Dib, I have a question," Zim began as Dib turned to face him in Zim's computer chair.

"Yes?"

"You never really were going to come here today, were you?" 

Dib's eyes widened at that. It was true that he hadn't actually planned on coming over here, but he felt like he had to, in order to get away from his family. He couldn't lie to Zim, not now, not after all the nice things he had done for him that afternoon. "No, I wasn't. I didn't think you'd really expect me to come over. Of course, I came over anyways because of what happened at the house, but..." Dib stopped, he didn't know if he should say anymore.

"You never really meant to, right?" Zim said, getting somewhat depressed like.

"No, I meant to," Dib replied. "It's was while I was walking away from my house, I thought that I should keep my promise and come over here. And you know what, Zim, I'm really glad I did this time. I would have done something stupid if I hadn't." Dib breathed in and waited for Zim to ask the next question. 

"Like killing yourself, perhaps?" Dib looked over at Zim in shock. "I wouldn't put it past you, after what you had described as daily occurrences in your house to me. I'm grateful that you came here before deciding to do that. I could have never imagined all of that. You really need to get away from your family, Dib," Zim continued as he moved closer to Dib.

"I know I should, but I just can't. Where would I go?" Dib asked sadly as he turned back to the fic and tried to read. He felt Zim's arms around him again, and leaned into Zim. "I know I should go home now and hope that my mom won't kill me when I walk in the door, but I just can't bring myself to face her again," Dib continued in a barely audible whisper.

"I'm going with you when you do go back," Zim stated, holding Dib closer to him. "She won't try to do anything to you, as long as I'm there. I'll even spend the night, if I have to. I'm not going to let her hurt you more than she already has, and that's a promise."

"Do you really mean that?" Dib asked as Zim let go of him. Dib got up from the computer chair and stood in front of him, so that he could see Zim's eyes when he answered.

"Of course I mean it. Dib, I never want to see you like that again. You don't deserve to feel all of that pain. Now, do you want to stay here, because it's getting late, or are you going to go home now?" Zim asked, trying to sound as caring as he felt right now.

Dib could see that Zim wasn't just saying that he meant it, and hugged Zim in response. "I'm not leaving unless you want me to go home," Dib whispered into Zim's shoulder. "You're the only person I will listen to right now, and you're the only one who cares about me enough to listen to me. I've tried telling Gaz about how my mother treated me, but she doesn't listen..."

Zim growled lightly at that. How could Gaz _not_ listen to Dib? He was her brother! She was supposed to know when he needed her! "How could she not listen? _How_?!" Zim nearly shrieked.

Zim could hear Dib sniff, and suddenly realized that Dib was crying again. What did he do wrong this time? What? "She doesn't listen because mother has taught her to believe that the way she's treating me is right. That my mother is teaching me by beating me up all the time. My sister was away that time when my mother got arrested, being at our aunt's house for the week. If she had been there and saw what my mother did to me, then she would believe me," Dib explained. 

"Haven't you tried proving to her that what your mother is doing is wrong?" Zim asked as he looked into Dib's eyes. Dib blinked at first, then nodded his head in response. "And she still doesn't listen?" Again, another nod. "Well, I'm glad I feel nothing for her."

"Earlier you said that you had your mind on someone from the moment you arrived here on earth.... Who was that?" Dib asked, knowing full well that he probably already knew.

Zim just blinked and tried to look away from Dib. He couldn't do that though, when Dib looked up at him like that. Zim could feel his cheeks get warm as he blushed lightly. "I thought you would have figured it out by now," Zim whispered, his antennae falling into his eyes. He had taken his disguise off since they moved down to his lab.

Dib brushed Zim's antennae out of his eyes, causing Zim to shudder slightly. "I know I should have, and I'm most likely right, but I still want to hear it from you before I jump to conclusions," Dib stated. 

"Isn't it kind of obvious?" 

"And you're asking me, when I was asking you in the first place?" 

Zim sighed. "Well, you, Dib. Why would I suddenly be acting so protective of you, not wanting you to get hurt? I don't really know exactly what I feel for you, Dib, but I've never felt like this before," Zim answered.

Dib nodded his head again and continued to stay latched onto Zim, resting his head on Zim's shoulder. "I'm glad you feel that way about me," Dib stated lightly, smiling slightly.

Zim smiled himself, but then frowned. Tomorrow was a skool day. They were going to have to go to skool, and face Dib's mother. He didn't want Dib to see her again so soon. He wrapped his arms around Dib and held him in place until Dib moved out from his arms. 

"Zim, what are we going to do about tomorrow?" Dib asked fearfully.

Zim looked around for something to help him out. He was still thinking of how he was going to keep Mrs. C from getting to Dib. "You could just stay here, while I go to skool." Zim suggested weakly.

Dib shook his head. "My mother would find out where I was, through you. She already suspects that we're together, even though we never really been close enough to one another until just now," Dib told him, a small blush creeping slowly across his face.

Zim thought harder. "I can't just let you go to skool and see her, though. Who knows what she'll try to do to you?" Zim mused out loud to himself.

"She wouldn't try to touch me unless I was alone with her in a room, Zim. So maybe if you stay with me the whole skool day, she won't do anything to me," Dib suggested.

"But what are we going to do when we go home? You can't come to my house, but you can't go to yours either, because of your mother. Where would you go?"

Dib sighed at that. "I was thinking that I would actually go home with Gaz, when she left skool, so that I wouldn't be in the house alone with mom. Though, my sister is probably angry at me as well, so I don't think that's a good idea."

"No, you're sister won't be angry at you. She'll be glad to see that you're alright, but then she'll explode on you," Zim said with a small smile.

"Yeah, she would, wouldn't she?" He walked over to the small radio on the table and turned it on. He searched for the right station. He needed to hear the song he dubbed as his. Sighing, Dib gave up, figuring he was never going to find his song while searching for it. He needed the CD.

"It's getting late, Dib, don't you think you might need some rest after what happened to you today?" Zim asked, concerned that Dib might be more exhausted than he was letting on.

"I'm fine, Zim, I'm not tired at all," Dib stated, but a yawn escaped his lips just shortly afterwards. This caused Zim to shake his head in amusement. It was so like Dib to say something like that. 

"C'mon, you can sleep in my bed," Zim ordered lightly, taking hold of Dib's hand and dragging him up to the surface level of his base.

"_You_ have a _bed_?" Dib asked in disbelief as he followed Zim.

"I don't use it, Dib. I usually sleep downstairs in my lab," Zim replied. As he was walking into the elevator, he tripped over Gir. 

"There you are, Master! I was looking all over for you!" Gir shrieked excitedly as he jumped onto Zim's back. 

Dib chuckled as Zim mumbled something about Gir being scatter-brained and got off of the floor. "I've been down here with Dib nearly most of the day, Gir, where else would I be?" Zim asked as he dusted himself off.

"Awww, has Master finally admitted his feelings for Dib?" Gir asked as he walked with Zim. Dib blushed lightly as Zim tried not to kill the little android. 

"You could say that, Gir," Zim answered as he looked over to Dib.

"Oh…. Well, I'm going to play around in the lab for a little bit, kay?"

"Don't touch or destroy anything important, Gir!" Zim ordered as the doors to the elevator finally closed around him and Dib. Zim sighed exasperatedly from the little encounter with Gir. 

"Is he always like that?" Dib asked once they were out of earshot of Gir.

Zim gave him a half-hearted glare. "Always is putting it lightly," was all he had to say, as they waited to make it to the surface level. Dib just nodded in understanding. 

The two walked in comfortable silence. Dib really was exhausted. He needed to sleep. Sleep wasn't something that came to him easily, either. Dib didn't even seem to notice that Zim was holding onto his hand, or the fact that he was squeezing Zim's for dear life. He didn't want to go to sleep, though. He wanted to stay up with Zim.

Zim seemed to sense his thoughts, however, and just shook his head. "You need your rest, Dib," was all he said. He motioned to a rarely used room. "Well, this is my bedroom. Nothing special, really."

"'Night, Zim," Dib said as he walked into the room. He looked around. It looked like a normal teenage boy bedroom. 

"'Night Dib. Oh, and if you need _any_thing, just ask. I should be up most of the night," Zim explained.

"Okay." Dib nodded and watched Zim leave. He hoped that he wasn't more of a hassle than he thought he was. Dib really didn't want to do this to Zim. Climbing into the rarely used bed, Dib hoped that for one night, he could sleep easy.

He had no such luck.

Only an hour into an uneasy sleep, Dib began to toss more than usual. He mumbled things as he slept. 

"You are so pathetic! No son of mine will be a fairy!" __

"You are so stupid! I mean, c'mon, **Dib**, you're sister could do a better job on this! I want you to go straight back to that skool of yours and retake this test until you get an A… And if you don't, I'll personally make sure you stay off line."

"You little son of a bitch! Get back here!" The pain. Oh, god, the pain. His back was in complete agony. 

Mom! Mom, please stop! What did I do? What did I do to deserve—No! Get back, Mom! Don't! Please! No! 

"You're going to pay, Dib, for ruining this family! How dare you call yourself one of us! It's a good thing your sister isn't home, she doesn't have to see this."

Stop it, Mother! Stop it! Just, please! Don't hurt me anymore! My back. It hurts enough already... 

"Oh, the pain of the broken china, which, may I add, **you** broke, is too much for you to bare, son?"

Mother, please! Listen to reason! Ow—Please, mother, stop! PLEASE! 

Dib woke up with a start, breathing heavily and sweating. He needed to control himself. That last please, he knew he shouted that out loud. It was how he woke up every time he relived that memory in his sleep. 

Dib rubbed his left arm, trying to calm himself. That moment was long gone. It was never going to happen again. Then why did he have to relive it like that? In a form of a nightmare. It was horrible. He had to deal with that same nightmare again and again, night after night. 

After he felt he was relaxed enough, Dib placed his head back on the pillow, then panicked. He realized he wasn't at home. His half-awake brain told him he was at Zim's house, and that he was safe. Safe. He had never felt that way, all his life. Not until now, and that thought was enough to make himself trust his sub-conscious and go back to sleep. 

It wasn't long until he started tossing and turning again. 

"Look at him! The boy with the big head!" __

"I bet he's gay! I mean, just look at how thin he is! He has to be!"

"I heard that his whole family hates him, especially his mother."

"Hey, paranormal shit boy, get over here! I've got something to show you!"

Stop it, please. Just shut up. All of you. I can't stand this much longer. 

"You know why you don't have any friends? It's because you're a fag. You hear me?"

"Heh, next thing you know, he'll be wearing dresses!" 

Leave me alone! All I want is to be respected.

"Respect? Do you know how to respect? No, you never knew how to. I have given you more respect, Dib, than I should."

Quiet, mother! Just shut up! You have never respected me! What do you know about respect?

"I know you just didn't say that to me like that, Dib. C'mere, give me your hand."

No! 

"Give me your hand goddamnit!"

Let go of me! Let GO! Just leave me alone, Mom. Leave me alone! I don't need this shit from you!

"It seems as though I have raised a problem child. No problem. That is easily remedied…"

No! Don't come near me! Don't you even touch me! I'm leaving, and there's no way you're going to stop me! I hate my life, mother! And you know why, you're the cause of it! I have no reason to live here, if you don't want me here!

"Then just go, Dib. It's just one less mouth to feed."

Fine! …What? Mother, what are you—No! Get back! Please! Stay away! Leave me alone! Please…just…oh, god, leave me alone. I want to be left alone. Alone, you hear? A-lone! 

"Dib, Dib, wake up," Zim said quietly as he tried to lightly shake Dib awake. He had walked in to check on the human when he noticed how much he was tossing and turning, not to mention mumbling to himself.

"Just leave me alone…" Dib continued to mumble to himself, his face crinkled in anguish. 

"No, Dib, I can't leave you. I _won't_ leave you. Ever. Please, just wake up," Zim continued. He had never dealt with this situation before, but he somehow thought that talking to Dib as he slept would somehow ease him. 

You won't…leave me?

"Dib, I could never do such a thing to you, not when you need me the most. Just wake up. Please." 

The last please had done it. Dib warily opened his eyes and discovered to find himself in Zim's arms. He didn't even need to ask Zim what was going on. He knew he was having a nightmare again. Suddenly, Dib burst into a new wave of tears and cried into Zim's shirt. It was just too much. 

Zim didn't need to ask to understand how bad Dib's nightmare had been. He just hoped that he could do something, to get Dib to stop feeling all of this pain. "Shhh. It's okay now," Zim said to Dib in a quiet voice, one he didn't even recognize. 

Oh, god, where should he start? The teasing? Or the abuse? It didn't matter to Dib anymore; he just mumbled incoherent sentences into Zim's shirt as he cried harder than he had earlier that day. He just didn't want to deal with it anymore. It was so horrible. All the times his mother abused him, the teasing he had to go through because people thought he was weird. 

And Zim was there, the whole time, listening and trying to understand as best as he could, while silently vowing that he would get his vengeance on Dib's mother, if it was the last thing he did. That woman had caused more pain and anguish of Dib than anyone else in existence had. She didn't deserve to live. How could Gaz have been oblivious to her own brother's pain? Even he had noticed it, to some degree.

"Zim…Promise me. Promise me you'll never do anything like those people. Don't ever turn on me, please." The completely desperate tone Dib had in his voice killed Zim. 

Zim kissed Dib. He couldn't help it. He had to. "I would never do such a thing to you. Now, get some sleep…" 

Dib looked up at him with wide eyes. "Zim, could you…could you stay here?" he forced himself to ask. "I…I'd feel safer if you would."

Zim nodded in understanding. He climbed into the bed with Dib, and hoped that this would help Dib get to sleep. This was something he'd have to get used to, he told himself. Dib was holding onto him for dear life. There was no way he was going to be going anywhere for a while.

"Thank you," Dib said finally with a small blush. He felt a whole lot safer with Zim's body pressed up against his like it was, and was able to fall asleep without being reminded of any past events.

Arm: ::sniffs:: See what 7th Heaven does to you! It makes you get really sad ideas! Especially if you watched that episode that aired October 1, 2001… That episode was indescribable. 

Leg: ::shakes her head:: She didn't even finish the fic entirely though! Damn! Oh well. Tell us what you think. It would make us very happy. ^_^ 

Arm: ::wipes her eyes:: Damnit, I was near tears. Well, yeah, reviews would be highly appreciated right now. 


	4. Part Four: Dib's POV

HA fanfic2

Arm: Chapter four! Oi. We're on a writing spree…

Leg: Yes, when we should be reading a few books for our book reports…and other assorted bits of homework. Anyway, it's the highly anticipated confrontation. Or not. Who knows? This will be the very last chapter to Abuse.

Arm: ::sighs:: Such a nice fic, too. This, my friends, had NO BASIS in true events. If you exclude the actual abuse. 

Leg: We don't own them. Read now and find out for yourselves. 

Abuse, Chapter Four: Dib, 1st Person POV 

Oh damn. This isn't good. This is most definitely not good. Not good at all. There is no way Zim is going to make me go to skool.

"Dib, you have to go. You said so yourself, your mom won't touch you as long as you aren't alone in a room with her," Zim explained to me.

I inwardly flinched. I did say that. But he just didn't understand. Just being in the same room as Sora caused me to experience an overwhelming fear. And he can't make me go! There was no way he would do such a thing like that. Zim _knew_ how scared of Sora I was, he just didn't _understand_ how much.

A shiver went down my spine as he placed his hand my own. "Dib, listen. You can't hide from her. She'll find you. You know she will. If I go to skool by myself, she'll make me tell her where you are. And if you're here by yourself, who will protect you from her?" Zim asked, being dead serious.

"Gir?" I joked, trying to lighten the situation a little. 

"I highly doubt that. Even if I had ordered him to," Zim stated, giving me a look that quite plainly said he didn't find my joke amusing at all. "Now, get ready. We're going to be late," he ordered lightly as he left to go check on something. 

I did as I was told. I knew Zim wouldn't hurt me (not now, anyway), but there was that reflex I had developed due to Sora to do whatever was asked of me. I took my time, though. I didn't want to go to that place, to be in the same room as her. I shuddered as I remembered my nightmares, all of those events. It made me sick to think about them.

How could she do something like that to me? I choked down my tears. The pain of past incidents, more specifically the China one, came back to me in a rush. I won't cry, though. I had done enough of that last night. I will never understand the way she worked, but I didn't care. She'll never love me anyway. 

I hadn't noticed I was crying silently to myself, but it was brought to my attention when Zim asked me if something was wrong from the doorway. "It's nothing, Zim."

"Nothing, huh?" Zim asked softly, and I knew he could tell I was lying. He hugged me from behind. "You really don't have to go if you don't think you can make it through the day, Dib. I know that it's really hard on you to even think of your mother, but you have to face her, the sooner the better.

"I know, but…" I trailed off. I had no "but" and Zim knew it. And being scared shitless does not count as a but because I lived with this fear all my life. I did have to face her, and Zim was right, the sooner I did, the better chance I had of her not getting near me.

"So, are you going to skool with me or not?" Zim asked once he let go of me. 

I turned to face him. He gave me a slightly pleading look, and I sighed. "I'll go. Only if you make sure she…doesn't touch me."

"Of course. She won't go near you as long as I can help it," Zim promised me. He took my hand once again and dragged me out of the door with him. I wiped my drying tears off of my face with my free hand. "Dib?"

"Yes?" 

"Are you sure you want to go? I'll completely understand if you don't," Zim stated as we arrived at the upper levels of the base. 

"I think I can handle it," I whispered softly, looking down at something that wasn't there. 

"Dib," Zim began.

"What?" I asked, looking up and into his eyes. I almost forgot he was wearing his contacts, and was disappointed not to see his true eyes.

"Nevermind. We're going to be late as it is. I'll tell you later," Zim said as he picked up his skool books, having to let go of my hand in order to do so. "Just don't say anything to her but 'here' and when she asks you skool related questions. I know that won't do anything but aggravate her further, but with everyone in skool watching her, she really can't do anything to you," Zim reassured me.

"I know, but she'll try to do something, I just know it…. Though a more immediate problem is my sister. She knows you lied to her," I stated as we walked out of the door.

We both stopped and blinked. There, standing in front of us was Gaz, tapping her foot impatiently. 

"Mom's not mad at you, she's highly worried about you. She wanted me to come here and see if you decided to come here. She wants you home, Dib," was all that Gaz said.

"I'm not going home."

"He's not going home."

Zim and I looked at each other. We had spoken at the same exact time.

"Why the hell not? She loves you, Dib."

I laughed bitterly to myself. Zim glared at Gaz. "If she loved him like you say she does, he wouldn't have come to my house, a complete emotional wreck," Zim paused, "because of all the things she had done to him."

I stopped him from going any farther. "Gaz, did you ever see what she had done to my back?" I asked quietly.

"No," she replied softly.

"She had thrown china at me, Gaz. _Broken_ china at my back because I had dropped a few dishes," I stated, my voice somehow managing to stay in the same octave. It was almost like I wasn't the one speaking. I had this eerie calm take over me.

Zim gasped slightly. "You…you didn't tell me about that, Dib," he stated slowly, almost reaching for my hand on reflex, but didn't because Gaz was there.

'I…I didn't you to think that she abused me like that anymore," I said softly.

"You mean she doesn't?" I nodded my head.

"Not anymore, anyway. She used to, though…" I trailed off and looked down at my hands.

"Then why haven't I noticed Mom doing those things to you?" Gaz asked, opening her eyes slightly.

"Because you were never home. Half of those scratches on my arms last year weren't from Zim, like you thought they were. Remember the burn I got on my hand?" I asked, showing her the still scarred area. 

"She did that to you?" Gaz gasped slightly to herself. "What about the cuts you have on your arms now?" she asked. 

Damn. I inwardly flinched again at that. I pulled the arms of my trench coat up and showed her. "These ones are…self inflicted," I stated slowly, the tears I knew I had kept in for too long sneaking up on me again.

"Yes, he's what most humans call a 'cutter.'" Gaz and I looked over at Zim. He suddenly looked uncomfortable. "I did…research while you were asleep, Dib," he said finally. 

"A cutter? Dib, you cut yourself in order to relieve emotional pain?" Gaz asked quietly, touching my arm.

Sighing, I simply looked down. "Yes. I had heard that it helped you forget your emotional pain. I became addicted to it. I've been trying to stop, but…it's so hard. It's like…it's like a…"

"Drug?" both Gaz and Zim supplied for me. 

"Yeah. Zim, I never did thank you for stopping me from cutting myself last night. If it weren't for that, I might have gotten brave and killed myself," I admitted, shoving my hands into my pockets, expecting to find the cold metal of the small blade Zim had taken from me last night.

"C'mon, we should be going to skool," Zim said as he grabbed my right arm. "Gaz, I suggest you go to your skool. If your mother sees you with us, she'll suspect you knew where Dib was the whole time, and you'll probably get hurt as well," Zim stated, not at all sounding as if he cared whether she got hurt or not.

"But I _knew_ that Dib was at your house yesterday after he ran out of the house. Mom believed me though when I said that I checked your place and that he wasn't there," Gaz pointed out.

"Figures. Sora always favored you, Gaz. Haven't you realized that? She's probably never even hit you," I stated, trying not to sound bitter, and failing miserably.

"She has, when she was drunk one time…but that was it," Gaz admitted.

I turned to face her, but Zim simply stated that we had no time to waste and continued to drag me off to skool. I waved goodbye to my sister as she took the path to the middle skool. 

"She was lying, you know," Zim stated once he knew Gaz was out of earshot.

"_Who_ was lying?" I asked him, but then I caught on. "No, she wasn't lying. Gaz is my sister, I would know when she lies to me!" I exclaimed. 

"I don't want to get into a fight about this, Dib. She told your mother. Your mother knows that you were with me the whole night," Zim stated calmly. "I don't know how I know, but she wasn't telling us the truth, not all of it, anyway."

I just nodded slightly. We walked the rest of the way in silence, Zim holding onto my hand, as if to keep me from going anywhere. My fear had gone away, somewhat, but I was still anxious. If Zim was right about my mom knowing, I could very soon be dead.

"Dib. Get over here. _Now_." I stopped. My blood had run cold, and suddenly I felt as if I couldn't breathe. My fingers wrapped tightly around Zim's because of my sudden spasm of fear.

Zim obviously knew who had spoken because of my reaction. He made to turn around to face Sora, but he had to pry my fingers off of his hand to do so, and I guess he didn't feel like it. He just kept walking. "Keep walking, Dib. Pretend you didn't hear her," Zim whispered.

I swallowed and continued to walk. I started breathing again in slow, deep breaths, trying to keep myself calm. Didn't work. Sora came over to us and tore my hand away from Zim's. 

"What do you think you're doing, Zim," Sora asked me in her deadliest tone. 

Trap One, check. I looked at her, and didn't even try to struggle out of her grip. Zim placed a hand on my shoulder. "Let go of him _now_, Mrs. C," he ordered quietly.

"He's my son, Zim. I can do whatever I want to him." She glared at him.

"Leave him alone, Mrs. C. I know that you abuse him," Zim said in an even quieter tone.

"Abuse him? I have never laid a hand on my children," Sora said, glaring at me. "Dib tells lies. I have never even disrespected him."

My anger started to grow. I have _never_ lied to anyone about what she did to me. "Then how did you get arrested when I was eleven? It sure wasn't because of something you did to Gaz!" My hands flew to my mouth the second after I had said that. 

My whole body was screaming at me to run. My panic button was being pushed. I remained in place though, because Zim's hand was keeping me where I was. Sora's eye twitched and I relaxed slightly when I realized that I wasn't at home, and that Zim wouldn't let her get near me.

"This is a warning, Dib. When you get home today, you're going to be punished for the rest of your life in your father's house," and with that she walked off to the skool.

I closed my eyes and told myself to relax, and that she didn't even touch me. I looked over at Zim, who glared at Sora behind her back. I did not believe how much he seemed to hate her. 

"Dib, we're sneaking into your house today after skool so you can get some things you need. You aren't staying there," Zim stated as we headed towards the skool, taking a slightly different route from Sora's. 

"Zim… Oh, god, I don't think I can… If she catches me, I'm not going to be able to get out of there…. I walked into what I like to call 'Trap Two.' If I'm alone with her for one second, I'm bound to have a new injury," I explained to him. 

"Trap two?" Zim asked, slightly confused.

"Yes. I had spoken to her in a disrespecting way. Trap One usually gets me yelled at, Trap Two gets me hurt. Trap Three… Well, I'd rather not talk about," I explained slowly. "Sora sets these things up. I walked into Trap One when I didn't listen to her; Trap Two was when I yelled at her. Though, since I ran away, I think I'm really in Trap Three. If I screw up today during skool, I could get seriously hurt," I said in a barely audible whisper. 

Zim took my hands into his own and made me look up at him. "I know we're out in public, Dib, but this has to be said. She won't be able to _touch_ you, because I'll be by your side. You're going to make it through today, if it's the last thing I do. You are the only person who knows me well enough to even just be my friend. I can't let her get near you. Do you understand?"

"Yes. I understand completely," I replied, completely not caring about the looks we must be getting. 

"Good. Now, we're going to be late," Zim stated again.

"You don't like being late, do you?" I found myself asking.

"Not at all. The last few times I was late, Miss Bitters would do something horrible to me. And since this is your mother, if we're late, then you're in even more trouble. Correct?"

"Yes."

"That's what I thought. And Dib, I, myself alone, can't really hold off a full grown human for too long, even if I were to use my mechanical legs. They sometimes cause more trouble than good for me," Zim explained, pointing to what would be his backpack. 

I knew better, though. I've seen that thing produce a lot of things, almost out of thin air. I understood it was a very important thing to Zim's race. "So you're saying that you'll try to protect me as best as you can, but be ready to run if I need to?" I asked, trying to sound like I was kidding, and failing yet again.

"Not in so many words, Dib, but yes. Actually, I was about to say that you should go back to my base," Zim stated, looking over at me as we walked.

"No. I'm going to skool. I have to face her sooner or later, and I'd rather face her now," I stated bravely. 

Zim nodded and looked out in front of him. We were nearing the skool. I could see all the kids in our class, meaning that somehow, Zim and I weren't as late as we thought we were. I noticed that Sora was looking over at us. I bit my lip and looked away from her. Zim didn't seem to notice her as he guided me into the skool.

I felt my fear come back to me. My legs almost gave out from under me, but I kept on walking and went to my locker, which was closer to the front doors than Zim's was. I had expected him to grab his things out of his locker while I got my own, but he waited for me.

We walked into the classroom just moments after my mother had. Zim sat down in his desk, and I walked self-consciously to mine. The bell rang just seconds after I sat down. 

"Good morning, class," Sora began as usual. She looked over all of us, glaring at Zim, then at me. I heard Zim growl at her once her eyes landed on me. He caught himself just moments after he had, and proceeded to mumble something about the homework being too hard, so the kids around him wouldn't suspect anything. 

I felt my heart speed up slightly. I acted as if I was paying complete attention, like I had yesterday. Though, today I was twice as jumpy. I nearly panicked when she called my name during roll, but I managed a shaky "Here."

Zim looked over at me a few times. He did his work like he had to (or, more like did next week's work) and stopped during the middle of the lesson. I did try to my work, but I couldn't concentrate on it. I quit a little after he did, and received a glare from Sora.

I tried to keep my eyes off of Zim and looked out the window. This is why I always picked the seat closest to the window. It reminded me there was a world outside of the one I was currently trapped in. At least, that's how I had looked at it before, while I was in skool and Sora wasn't really in my life.

I loved those days when _she_ was too busy traveling to even come to Dad's house. The same days when I started chasing Zim, and the only reason I ever got hurt was because of Gaz or Zim. Even though they were injuries, they were never like the ones I had received from Sora. 

That first week she came back and stayed was the absolute worse of my life. Gaz was away, and I had thought Sora changed. I thought she had taken the counseling like she and Dad were told to do.

She didn't. 

And I had gotten the worst beating of my life, that very same week.

It was so stupid of me. I _knew_ she had been drinking that night. I shouldn't have offered to wash the dishes. I had the tendency to break everything my mother valued (without meaning to), and those dishes were given to her by her mother.

Suddenly, I yelled at myself to stop thinking about that night. I didn't want to think about it. It was the only thing that was worse than the time she found out that I was gay, a year or so after that. She had given me the worst of her anger then, but it was nothing compared to the China Incident. Nothing could ever be worse than that.

Or so I hoped.

I knew I had crossed Trap Three, there was no way I hadn't. I turned away from the window and looked at the blackboard. The detention list was put up. I squinted to read it, when I realized I had received detention. 

But when had that happened? I didn't do anything but my work since my mother arrived. Then it hit me. I was late, yesterday. I suddenly cursed out my past teacher who Sora had replaced. She must have written down I was late three times before I was late yesterday, and four lates equaled a detention. Which was the truth, I had been late three times, all because Sora wouldn't let me leave the house until Gaz did, and her skool started later than mine did. 

I wished Sora had _never_ moved back in. I wish Dad had fallen for someone else, and wouldn't let Sora back in the house. I knew it was no use though. All of this happened, and I can't change it.

"Zim! Pay attention!" Sora ordered suddenly. I snapped my head over in Zim's direction. He looked up at Sora calmly, almost bored like.

"I did all of this work last week. I was able to because our last teacher gave me it upon my request. And I have been paying attention," Zim replied to her.

I knew right away that Zim had crossed into Trap One. I was desperately trying to get him to stop while he was a few steps a head of Trap Two. 

"You have, have you?" Sora asked him, a fire in her eyes that I thought only I could see, but Zim gave her his best glare.

"Yes. The work is on your desk," he stated, pointing to it. 

"Why are you getting your work early, Zim?" Sora asked, trying to keep her anger in check. 

God, was I thankful that there were other people in the room. If Zim was me and I was alone with Sora, I would have been dead by now.

"Because I requested to. I like to be ahead in my studies in case of a family emergency and I have to be out for a week or so," Zim stated with such seriousness that I almost believed him. "Or when I get sick," he added. 

Sora actually bought that. She looked over at him and resumed her teaching. I looked back over the detention list. Damnit. I would be alone with her for an hour after skool, with that stupid detention. 

I spaced out after that, once again, until it was almost time for lunch. But before then, Zim had been yelled at by Sora again, for something he claimed he didn't do. 

I think he knew about my detention. There was no way Zim would be acting this badly if he didn't. Or maybe he was testing her, seeing how quickly he could get her to forget she was teaching and lash out at him like she had done with me in the past.

And with the combined anger she was feeling because of what I did yesterday and with what Zim was doing now, I think he was close to succeeding. 

Whatever he was planning, I just hoped that neither of us would get hurt. If he just wanted to get detention, he should wait to do something at lunch. The bell suddenly rang, and Zim and I had the intention to be able to get to the cafeteria without interruptions.

Boy, were we wrong. 

"Zim, Dib, please stay. I would like to have a word with you," Sora stated. 

I felt my blood run cold for a second time today. Oh, damn. Zim knew she abused me, she would hit me in front of him. Zim walked up to me and waited for everyone in our class to leave before placing an arm around my waist. Either he was trying to reassure me that he wouldn't leave, _or_ to piss Sora off. Either way, it was working. 

"I know the two of you are together," Sora began slowly. "And, Dib, I know you've probably told Zim every little thing I have done to you, but since Zim now knows, it won't do anything to keep me from hurting both of you…." She looked over at Zim, who just glared at her, then at me. I visibly flinched when I saw the anger in her eyes. 

I wanted to run, and run very far from Sora. My legs weren't working. At all. I waited for whatever she was going to do to me. I closed my eyes and waited, afraid of what she was capable of. 

But the blow didn't seem to want to come. Which meant one thing, Sora had learned to control herself, or…

I suddenly was pushed out of the way by something. I opened my eyes only to close them again in pain. My head had hit against one of the desks. I opened them dazedly to realize that it wasn't me who Sora was after. I got up from the floor and ran over to Zim, who was getting off of the floor himself, a hand pressed against his side.

I didn't even care when she pulled me off of Zim, her nails digging through the material of my trench coat, even if it was leather. I did something I had never thought I'd do.

I punched Sora as hard as I could in her stomach, causing her to let go of me.

Once realization set in, I looked at my balled fist in shock. Oh god. No. I didn't. I hadn't. I didn't punch Sora. I looked over at her; the shock at what I had done clearly etched all over Sora's face. She had never thought, with all of the years of her abuse, that I would hurt her in anyway.

Zim glared at her. He placed a hand on my shoulder. "C'mon, Dib, let's go," Zim said as he turned to head for the door.

I turned with him, but I was grabbed from behind by Sora, who clamped a hand over my mouth to prevent me from screaming. 

"You thought you could _punch_ me and get away with it, didn't you?" Sora asked as she began to choke me.

"Let go of him, Mrs. C!" Zim hissed in a deadly whisper.

"It hurts you, doesn't it, Zim? To see your fag of a lover to be hurt like this?" she asked harshly, choking me even more.

I was turning all sorts of colors. I could just feel it. My vision was beginning to swim as I struggled getting out of her vice-like grip on me. 

I was beginning to black out when Mrs. Guy, the principle, ran into the room. Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head, and Sora dropped me like a sack of potatoes. I fell to my knees as gasped for air. I rubbed my neck. It still felt as if her arm was choking me. Zim ran over to me and helped me get back on my feet.

"You okay?" he asked quietly.

I swallowed and winced in pain at the action. "I…will be," I replied just as quietly, still rubbing my neck.

I looked over at Sora. She looked like a dear caught in headlights, and I found myself feeling triumphant. It's about time she was caught. She was arrested once before, but she had somehow gotten out of it.

"Mrs. C, please come with me. Zim, Dib, you too. I want you to explain to me what had happened, and what's been going on," Mrs. Guy ordered.

I told Mrs. Guy everything and anything she wanted to hear. My mother was arrested for various charged. I could finally live my life in peace. 

Zim smiled and took my hand into his own, telling me without words that I was safe, and that I would remain that way. I leaned my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes as we rode in the police car (the officer had offered us a ride to my place, since he was going to talk to Dad). I was finally safe, _and_ I had someone who loved me for who I was.

I don't believe I've felt this happy in my whole life. But something told me it most definitely wasn't going to be my last.

Arm: ::sniffs:: It's over, god jammit. 

Leg: Man. It's about time we finished this. But, there is this idea Arm and I have for a sequel/continuation for this fic… We might start that really soon.

Arm: ::nods:: Yes. Well, read and review and tell us what you thought. Please? 


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